chirmen

Middle English

Etymology

Inherited from Old English ċirman, from Proto-West Germanic *karmijan; equivalent to chirm +‎ -en (infinitival suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃirmən/

Verb

chirmen (third-person singular simple present chirmeth, present participle chirmende, chirmynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle chirmed)

1. (rare) To chirp or twitter; to make bird noise.

Conjugation

Conjugation of chirmen (weak in -ed)

infinitive	(to) chirmen, chirme
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	chirme	chirmed
2nd-person singular	chirmest	chirmedest
3rd-person singular	chirmeth	chirmed
subjunctive singular	chirme
imperative singular		—
plural1	chirmen, chirme	chirmeden, chirmede
imperative plural	chirmeth, chirme	—
participles	chirmynge, chirmende	chirmed, ychirmed

¹Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Descendants

• English: chirm
• Scots: chirm, churm

References

• “chirmen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.